Clothing for a Cause: The Samburu Project
You all know that I’m a big fan of fashion that has a greater purpose: eco-conscious brands, charitable collaborations, companies with a focus on social restructuring…so it’s no surprise that when I’m looking for new casual wear, I look for words like “a portion of the proceeds go to…”
The Samburu Project has partnered with Public Library to create a set of t-shirts that support their goal of bringing fresh drinking water – via twenty-five wells – to the Samburu District of Northern Kenya. Here’s a little history lesson, as taken (in excerpts) off of their website (emphasis mine):
“The Samburu are a pastoral nomadic tribal community of over 150,000 people living in an arid, remote area of Northern Kenya just above the equator. Because of the area’s harsh terrain, the tribe’s economy is based on livestock – cattle, sheep, goats and camels.
The Samburu circumcise both boys and girls as a right of passage. There is a movement to educate women and girls about their rights to put an end to genital mutilation.
Life for Samburu women is very challenging. Women are the property of their husbands, are not allowed to own anything and have no rights. They carry all the daily household burdens including looking for water and firewood, caring for their children, building and maintaining their homes, tending to livestock, and cooking. Violence against women is socially acceptable and often encouraged.
The biggest issue in Samburu, Kenya is not HIV/AIDS, poverty or genital mutilation. It’s the lack of clean water. Samburu women walk up to twelve miles every day looking for water and often return home to their children with nothing.”
Building these wells is just the first step in the Samburu Project, and they’ve already finished twenty-two. You can pick up any of the t-shirts featured on this post - just click the image, which will take you to the retail shops that offer them (you can find the list of shops here) – and become a part of the movement that will make the lives of these women, the lives in this community, a little easier.
Want to take a more direct, less fashiony route? You can donate online or by mail, volunteer, or be added to their mailing list by clicking here.
(This one is definitely my favorite.)
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Very cute shirts and for a good cause too!
jamieofalltrades´s last blog ..julia child’s beef bourguignon
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[...] Awakened Aesthetic – – features t-shirts by the Samburu Project, which provides drinking water to the Samburu District in Northern Kenya. [...]
[...] Awakened Aesthetic – – features t-shirts by the Samburu Project, which provides drinking water to the Samburu District in Northern Kenya. [...]
[...] Awakened Aesthetic – Conscious Fashion: The Samburu Project T-Shirts [...]
[...] Awakened Aesthetic – – features t-shirts by the Samburu Project, which provides drinking water to the Samburu District in Northern Kenya. [...]